Capilano University Animation in Jamaica

Last summer two Animation teachers (Don Perro and Adam Sales) went to Jamaica to teach animation. Jamaica? We had to find out more. Here is the conversation:

What were you teaching in Jamaica? Who hired you and why did they choose you?

The class was made up of people who were: art students, teachers and a couple working animators.  We taught animation basics....really just a brief introduction.  We worked in Adobe Flash for the most part and Adam did some lectures with Softimage XSI (3D animation).  We were introduced to the World Bank by the trade commissioner for Canada in Jamaica.  The World Bank invited us down due to our history of international development of animation programs (we have set up programs in China, Malaysia and Mexico).

What was the purpose of teaching animation in Kingston?

The World Bank wants to encourage animation as and industry in Jamaica to create employment opportunities for youth.  They also want to increase awareness of gender violence issues and promote change. They worked with the Canadian Trade Commission and produced an animation festival and conference called KINGSTOONS 2013 that ran the weekend before our workshop and which was a huge success. That event alone created a huge interest in animation among government, educators and the public (4000 Facebook "likes" in a few weeks) https://www.facebook.com/kingstoonfest

Why is Jamaica becoming the next center for animation in the world?

Well, we don't know if Jamaica will be the next center for animation yet....there is interest and the government is currently investing in some training programs. One studio that was involved seems to have signed an international deal. http://www.jis.gov.jm/news/leads/34963 Many people think Jamaica has great potential.  They have an English-speaking population with a western culture.  They are involved with the creative arts such as drawing and music.  There is no or little difference in the time zone.  The government is pro-animation and pro-business. And of course, comparatively lower labour costs would play a part.

I blogged the trip. 

http://thejoncrow.blogspot.ca/

Below is the blog of Fabio Pittaluga, World Bank Senior Social Development Specialist for Latin America and Caribbean. We worked with him to get this all set up. 

http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/video/2013/07/23/animation-jamaica-birth-industry-youth

This is a guest blog post from Capilano 4th year film student, Nigel Edwards, whose short film screened at the Toronto International Film Festival this year.

The TIFF Guide for First Time Festival Goer’s

This year I had the amazing privilege to attend the 2013 Toronto International Film

Festival with a short film I produced early last year. Foreclosure is a comedy about a guy who

was haunted by naked people in the office. The protagonist is promised a hefty promotion by the

end of the day if he can complete a dossier by 5:00pm, but is thwarted by his colleagues when

they all become naked. The film initially began as a Crazy8‘s project here in Vancouver and after

almost making it to the final stage before being green lit, Wayne Robinson (writer/director) and I

decided to make the film anyways. After workshopping the script with a CBC story editor,

Dennis Heaton, Wayne was eager to get rolling on the project. After many debates we decided to

take our time with the project and get the right people on board. I enlisted the help of another

Capilano film student, Tom Hackett, to help co-produce the film as well a large plethora of other

Capilano students and alumni to crew the film.

To try and explain the festival in a few words simply wouldn’t do it justice. Asides from

having a film there, which proved to be very beneficial when meeting with people, the

conferences, connections, and films were amazing. Leading up the festival, you receive

numerous emails from TIFF about RSVP’s, meetings, etc, and you become so familiar with

names that when you finally meet them in person, they actually remember you. It was

completely worth it to be there in person for our film. A typical conversation, usually taking

place at one of the many ‘happy hours’, went something like this:

“So what are you doing here at the festival?”

“I produced a short film in the Short Cuts Canada program...”

There were many great moments at the festival, but for the sake of this piece, I will try

and contain them to producing type stuff all under a PG rating. One of the best takeaways

stemmed from an email intro that one of my professors initiated with the people from the

National Screen Institute. After a couple quick emails, we set a time to meet up later in the week.

I was surprised they had time at all as people’s schedules fill up quick during the festival. We

ended up meeting at the Fairmont Hotel just before lunch. After doing a quick Google search to

figure out what they looked like (always know what they look like them before hand), we ended

up talking with them for over an hour and a half. We talked about all kinds of different stuff, but

the secret was that we didn’t ask them redundant questions about the program that we could have

learned from their website. After a few coffees, we picked up the bill (if you can afford it, always

be proactive and pick up the bill) and were on our way out, when the two lovely ladies openly

admitted how refreshing it was to meet with people that were interested in talking to them,

asking questions about what NSI wanted, etc. We were the only people that got in contact with

them. Another trick that stemmed from this meeting was to play off our strengths: one director,

and two producers. We were constantly spinning off each other’s questions leaving no room for

awkward silence.

Looking back there are many things that I would do differently but overall everything

happened the way it should for first time festival goers. Ever since I started in film I’ve had

business cards. I was always told to have a slick card that ‘felt’ a little different. Unfortunately

my card was so slick that you couldn’t write on it with anything except a sharpie, which no one

carries. Clean and simple business cards are essential because besides the face to face interaction,

your card is how they remember you.

Luckily Tom and I were told this way before leaving Vancouver but the festival is not

about the films. Unfortunately for our director, who is a massive cinephile, didn’t realize till later

on that TIFF is a hub for amazing conferences that you’d never see if you were stargazing on the

red carpet, or attending your fourth or fifth film of the day. For first time “festies” it is crucial

that you attend all the conferences you can and squeeze in a film here and there. By the end of

the fourth or fifth day of conferences we had TIFF Industry Programmers commend us on our

commitment to attending almost everything. You don’t get that respect by sleeping in or catching

the latest Denis Villeneuve flick (which I heard was great).

In trying to summarize all the amazing lessons I’ve learnt over the past two weeks, I’ve

come up with three main recommendations for other filmmakers:

1. Be respectful of people’s time.

The festival goes so quick that everyone is usually booked solid. Be courteous of people’s time

and if doesn’t work out, don’t worry about it. Don’t force yourself on people. Set up a meeting

with them well in advance. If you happen to run into them, approaching groups of three is way

easier than groups of two. That way there is always someone who isn’t talking and can be your in

to a conversation.

2. Have something that sets you apart from everyone else.

Fortunately for us we had a great calling card before coming to the festival. In a movie where

there is only male nudity, we could easily be remembered as “the naked guys”. Before leaving

we managed to print 100 postcards with a provocative screenshot from the film that really caught

the eye, as well as the screening information on the back. We handed them out to everyone and

not surprisingly it proved to be a nice lead into some interesting conversations. We also did a

photo series leading up to the world premiere of our film. I would Instagram a semi-nude photo

of one of the cast or the director, doing common things around the house: drinking coffee,

reading a book, playing Dance Dance Revolution, etc. The director would then Tweet the photo

with a caption like “7 DAYS TILL FORECLOSURE”, and the appropriate hashtag that we made

for ourselves. The staple hashtags were #foreclosure, #nakedorbreakit, and #justtheTIFF. From

here we would invite our friends on FB and Twitter to follow our photo series and in turn

generate hype for the film. We ended up having some TIFF programmers retweet most of the

photos expanding our social network ever farther.

3. Do your homework.

Know who you want to talk to before you show up, and be realistic about it. You can’t assume

that you’ll meet George Clooney and have him cast in your next film. It doesn’t work that way.

For me one of the goals I set was to befriend like-minded filmmakers who were at the same level

or just above me. I made several friends like that of whom I will keep it contact with over the

years, even if it’s just to keep updated on projects. With regards to the conferences, some of the

material will seem way beyond your years as a professional filmmaker, however it’s beneficial to

sit there and listen. You’re going to have to deal with these people eventually, so it’s good to

know what they do. Failing all that, having an idea of where you want to go next is important.

“What’s next for you?” people will say and you should know. For me, I’m very passionate about

attending the Canadian Film Centre after I graduate, so building those relationships was crucial

in my festival experience.

I’m very happy and grateful that I had to opportunity to attend TIFF this year. It has been

both a rewarding and inspiring experience for me. As I finish my undergrad this year, I’m hoping

to bring that same enthusiasm as I push the development of my first feature. As for missing the

first two weeks of school, TIFF is one of the largest film festivals in the world, you’d be foolish

not to attend.

//NE

Jan Nablo (1939-2013)

We are deeply saddened to announce that Jan Nablo passed away on August 7, 2013 after succumbing to complications from diabetes. Jan was born in Toronto on September 5, 1939. He moved west in 1968 and has been a resident of West Vancouver since 1976. 

In his early years in Vancouver, Jan could be seen touring around in his convertible Mercedes sports car, often heading in the direction of the Hastings Racetrack. On many occasions Jan was able to cheer on one of the horses that he and his partners owned, an investment that he said rarely paid off, but was always good fun. 

Jan was also interested in film and television, which became his full-time career during these same years when he wrote for the CBC, and was particularly proud of the scripts he delivered for the long-running Beachcombers series. Jan also worked with his long-time friend, Red Robinson, writing the Timmy’s Telethon show for many years. 

Jan began teaching screenwriting in night courses for what was then Capilano College. He would return to school himself and earned his Masters degree in education. The teaching would turn into a two-decade commitment when the college decided to initiate a full-time film program and Jan became one of the founding members of what has developed into the Capilano University film school, now situated in the Nat and Flora Bosa Centre for Film and Animation. 

When Jan retired a few years ago, the faculty held his retirement party at the Hastings Racetrack. Since then Jan took up lawn-bowling and became a member of the West Vancouver club. In the mornings, he could often be found having his coffee at Delaney’s at Park Royal, then he was off to the West Vancouver library to read and study, and Friday evenings he could be found having a friendly glass at the Legion. A lifelong bachelor, Jan is survived by his niece Kim Demay, and the many friends who were his family, and we are all going to miss him.